Remote control systems for electronic devices have presented several problems for many years. Like early remote control systems, most remote control systems in use today rely on manufacture of a specific remote control apparatus for a specific device. As a result, where a user acquires several remotely controllable devices, the number of remote controls the user must possess, store, organize, and manipulate rises in a linear relationship to the number of remotely controllable devices owned by the user. The difficulty associated with finding the proper remote control for a device and learning how to manipulate different remote controls is only compounded by the eventual loss or breakage of one or more remote controls. Hence, others have attempted to address these problems by providing remote controls that operate a plurality of devices.
Attempts at developing a universal remote control have traditionally been frustrated by the need to store multiple sets of control codes within the remote control apparatus, and the need to provide a user interface that will operate a number of devices with vastly different functions. The universal remote controls developed have generally presented a large number of buttons that are confusing to the user, and these remotes usually have a library of shared sets of remote control codes for existing devices that the user must manually scan through and attempt to use with each remotely controllable device. A further need is one of adapting a remote to control a device not in existence at the time of manufacture of the universal remote and whose control codes and functions have not been anticipated. Mere universal remote controls fail to address this need because they are not programmable; as a result, programmable universal remotes have appeared in various forms.
Most commercially available programmable universal remote controls use a learning function so as to emulate another remote control. Usually, such remotes learn new functions in a key by key manner as the user selects a new key to program and then transmits that code to the programmable device from the device-specific remote control. Many users find this method tedious and time consuming, and users must usually remember the functions of keys for different devices. This method is also not available if the original remote control has been lost or damaged. Some variations have presented, however, that attempt to solve these problems.
Some remotes are capable of learning remote control codes by downloading them by modem or from a computer. These remotes generally follow the key by key approach using computer assisted software. Other remotes are specifically designed to control a computer base station that in turn controls various devices connected to the computer through professional installation. Adding new devices to this type of remote system is complex, time consuming, and usually costly. Another type of remote is automatically configurable to a device when the remote and the device have both been manufactured to enter into a two-way communication and follow a predetermined programming sequence. Such a remote, however, is generally not programmable for devices with which it was not manufactured to communicate.
Another type of remote controller capable of downloading command sets from a device is taught in “Remote controller, remote control interface, and remote control system including a remote controller and a remote control interface,” by Kitao, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,124,804 issued to the Assignee of the present invention and herein incorporated by reference. A similar remote controller is taught in “Remote controller, remote control interface, and remote control system including a remote controller and a remote control interface,” by Kitao, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,160,491 issued to the Assignee of the present invention and herein incorporated by reference.
At least one remote control possesses internet browsing capability and may therefrom separately receive control codes for a device, electronic programming guide information, and information for relating one to the other in order to allow the remote to internally relate one to the other and permit the user to select programming for a particular device using title-based direct access control.
The aforementioned remote controls fail, however, to permit a user to organize command sets into groups in a way that facilitates control of a system. For example, these devices do not permit a user to manually configure command sets of various interrelated devices to automatically create and/or recreate operating conditions for the interrelated devices based on user preference and/or intelligence regarding device interactions. Further, these devices do not permit a user to execute multiple commands in a command sequence operable to perform an action requiring one or more devices that involves use of multiple commands of the associated command sets. Still further, these devices are not adapted to controlling multiple devices at diverse locations encountered frequently by an individual person. Thus, a need remains for a personal programmable remote control that allows users to download, organize, and use command sets in the aforementioned manner. The present invention fulfills this need.